Have you heard of the term "promoted apps?" That is the euphemistic term for programs that were preinstalled in a new computer. People like me knew them by a different term, bloatware, they were popular in the old Microsoft Windows and MacOS installs; the idea was companies would give money to OS and/or computer/smart phone manufacturers to bundle the former software with the later's products. Think of it as a variation of paid advertising or infomercial. This junk was grouped into:
- Trialware
- Adware
- Spyware, like those bundled by cell phone carriers.
- And, on a rare occasion, something useful. Somewhere out there there is an example.
That trend has not diminished. If you check your brower, you may find it is ready to connect to offer a youtube search engine built-in. People have been reported Windows 11 coming with TikTok and Meta installed at least since 2022. No matter what people said, I do not mind TikTok/Meta/Twitter/youtube as long as I decide to install it. I mean, what is wrong with going to an app store and getting it? But, why should any of them be bundled into a new Windows 11 tablet? Yes, there are tricks and instructions online to remove them, but they should not be there to begin with.
